THE MAORI PROPHET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13192, 1 June 1906, Page 5

THE MAORI PROPHET.

REPORTED PURCHASE OF ARMS. The Waimana correspondent' of the East Coast Guardian writes:—There is a good deal of uneasiness being felt in respect to the expected rising of the Hauhans under the leadership of the new prophet. The Maoris have been using every means of raising money within the last few weeks for the purpose of providing themselves with firearms and ammunition. The run on the latter became so strong the other day that the storekeepers stopped the supply altogether. It is said that the prophet has now a bodyguard of 50 trained volunteers who are armed with the Government latest type of rifle. The Maoris expect that by the time the march round the coast to Gisborne is complete the prophet will have the command of 400 armed men. After a careful inquiry among the leading Maoris living south of the confiscation boundary line, I have arrived at the conclusion that the question of whether the back block settlers are to be destroyed or not depends upon the choice of the prophet. He has obtained such a hold over the Maoris through their superstitions that they would not hesitate to march upon the city of Auckland with the object of taking it, if he ordered them to do go. While the prophet has been dragging all the ablebodied men round the country, there have been hundreds of their women and children left to starve in the pas, with no chance of aid unless supplied by the Government. A very simple solution of the difficulty at the present stage would be for the authorities to place the prophet in a position where his superfluous energy could be worked off more for the benefit of the country and himself.